Since he made his season debut to great fanfare against Cornell on Nov. 15, junior guard Kevin Ware has virtually disappeared, and he doesn't figure to resurface anytime soon.

Pitino indicated last week that Ware probably won't play much this season and said it "will be a transition year" for him. "He needs to work and get back to where he was before he got hurt," Pitino added, referring to the broken leg Ware suffered last spring in the NCAA Tournament.

"A lot of people think I'm a little upset at him because of his speeding ticket," Pitino said. "I spent about an hour with him and then forgot about it. He's the 12th man on our team because he's coming back from an injury. So now you've not only got to get back from your injury, but how do you get in the lineup with guys that have been playing all summer long? That's something that is very difficult at this stage.

"He's not what he was athletically, and he's also behind four or five other players at his position. Right now on the depth chart he's not very high, and he's got to prove in practice that he can beat an Anton Gill, a Tim Henderson. He's not going to be able to step in front of Russ, Terry or Chris, but can he go by those other guys who have been there since August?"

Ware was kicked in the shin against Missouri State and didn't dress for Saturday's 85-56 rout of FIU in Miami. He has played only 53 minutes this season, including just 37 in the last eight games.